Shakespeare with a difference
So as I pointed out last month, there are some great (and some not-so-great) films of Shakespeare’s plays. But sometimes you don’t feel like watching Shakespeare. Sometimes, you want to watch something a bit different. So, for those nights, here are some adaptations that offer Shakespeare with a twist, with a little bit of something … Continue reading
Play Dirty
One of the perks of Netflix Watch Instant is I can take a chance on something, without the risk of wasting a few days waiting for a DVD to arrive. I can browse, try something for a few minutes, and if I don’t enjoy the flick, I just hit stop and find something else (which … Continue reading
Shakespeare
A confession up front: this post comes close to violating The Idler’s mandate to focus on things we enjoy. In another part of my life, I am a Shakespeare scholar. I write about his plays in performance, I edit volumes about the topic, I used to teach the subject regularly. In other words, Shakespeare is … Continue reading
Welcome to Twin Peaks
I do not remember much of Twin Peaks during its original run on television. But, I do remember the many references to it scattered across other media, mainly gags on episodes of The Simpsons. My first real experience with Twin Peaks was during my freshman year in college (I’m sure cooler people than I will … Continue reading
Parallel universes In which Netflix becoming Qwikster makes sense
Doing Two Things Is Confusing The year is 2000, Amazon, the burgoning internet book seller, splits off their new music department into a website called Nile.com. By 2011 every river has a .com address and is a commerce portal operated by Amazon.com. Over the next 10 years the internet is entirely dominated by single-serving sites. … Continue reading
Metaphysics in pink
The leading man of my featured items today has it all: he’s lithe, funny, soldiers on through existential crises, doesn’t overstay his welcome, and, above all, comes with a fabulous soundtrack. That’s right, the Pink Panther is on Netflix Instant and he will win you over in a heartbeat. More importantly, your kids will love … Continue reading
The border virtues of Buddy Cole
It was the perfect time and place to discover Kids in the Hall. In 1990, I was ten years old, and had spent the last three of them insomniac, sneaking downstairs, only sometimes with my mom’s grudging permission, to catch bits of Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. It was my … Continue reading
Movie sign with Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I watched it on Comedy Central back in the day, and followed it to its new home on the Sci-Fi Channel in the late 1990s. Heck, I even watched the Mystery Science Theater Hour, which broke episodes up into two-part, 60-minute … Continue reading
Tonight on Netflix
Search = “popular” Tangled Winter’s Bone I Love You Phillip Morris Search = “indie + cred” Fish Tank Leaves of Grass Brick Search = “date + movie” Four Weddings and a Funeral Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Before Sunset Search = “get + me + laid” Moulin Rouge Romeo + Juliet The Red Violin … Continue reading
Paul Newman is hot
This will come as no surprise, but I’ll say it anyway: Paul Newman is hot. That description really doesn’t do him justice, though. He was so beautiful when he was young that it’s nearly painful. It’s not just his famously blue eyes — though, oh my, they make my heart skip a beat — or … Continue reading
